OH OH - Ruth Baumgardner, 21, Delaware, 4 May 1937

[Kimster]

Ruth is our featured Cold Case for 5/15 - 5/22/2011

:rose:

 

[Princess of Oz]

Could this be where she ended up, if the story is true?

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~asylums/southeast_oh/index.html (Hubby says this one is now part of Ohio State University but the hospital is still there (still used for the same thing).)

or here..

http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=CSH (destroyed in 1977)

These are the only 2 that I can find, and know anything about (husbands family is from OH), that were in operation in the time frame she would have been there.



ETA: Going by the story she would have been in a ward in PA, not OH.

 

[momtolil]

Regarding the facility:

I would think that she would have been sent to the one in PA or possibly one in a close by state such as Illinois, Kentucky or Indiana. I tend to think that the family would not want her in a local facility due to trying to save the family reputation.

Having spent alot of my time in Cincinnati, I know that the states listed above are not all that far away. But just far enough that you wouldn't have all the gossipy neighbors talking.

Although I know it is intrusive, I would still love to know where she ended up.

 

[KariKae]

At this point, I think the parent's will is the key to what happened to Ruth.

If she lived, I assume her parent's will would have provided for her care.

There is also the possiblity she is deceased as a result of what she endured.

 

[Claudette]

Does anyone have a way to compile multiple PDF pages into one? I don't have the ability to, and I would like to share the documents of the court transcript and the book transcript but there are like, 20 or so individual PDF pages. They are numbered.

 

[Laura_Bean]

I dount it was an abortion. 99.999% of women who are going to have one are not jovial or excited right before getting an abortion done.

 

[wallflower67]

If the parents were ashamed of her, whether for pregnancy, prostitution, insanity, she may have been "dead to them." Therefore, she may not have really been deceased at the time her parents' obituaries refered to her as "the late Ruth Baumgardner."

People back then were ashamed of insanity, or even suicide. My grandfather committed suicide and my grandmother was hell-bent on making sure no one but immediate family found out. We later found out that there were more suicides and mental illnesses in our family.

 

[nannymo]

The following had to be written years later from his memory. Some of his facts are off, such as Ruth Baumgardner was taken about May 4th and Patrolman Conn was shot & killed 9/27/37.

The following paragraphs are taken from pages 61& 62 of the typed transcripts of “ON EAGLE’S WINGS” The Story Of My Life Ernest Paul Webb:

"snipped"
The girl was suppose to have been dropped off at a house of prostitution in Pittsburgh. With this information the Pittsburgh detectives raided this place and took into custody, Ma Brown (Black) and two white or mulatto girls. I went with them on this raid along with 5 detectives. One detective and myself were assigned to the rear of this place which was along an alley. It was dark there, but a car entered the alley and the lights momentarily hit us. A second later they cut lose on us with an automatic weapon. I can only remember the brick dust and splinters. I took a dive into the dark spot which turned out to be about a truck load of tin cans and garbage. This car passed the front of the house and another detective emptied his gun into it but they got away. Ma Brown and her girls were taken to the detective bureau were they were questioned. Ruth Bumgardner had been there but her photo was identified as another name. Shortly there after, a Pinkerton Agent approached me in the hotel where I stayed and asked us to lay off the case at the request of the Bumgardner family, stating that she had been returned home and had been placed in a metal institution. Before I gave him a n answer, I conferred with Inspector Monyhan and Col. Black and they both agreed. This is one story the press never got as we told them she had just disappeared."

(Bold print entered by me)

Could it be that her parents took her to an assylum and registered her under this false name that obviously she was given to keep from finding her?

If there is mention in one of these documents what that name was, maybe a search of records would find her.

I am more inclined to think she never came out of the institution. If she did come out, maybe she used a different name to keep anyone from finding out the "family secret" or her identity.

You might also check public records of some of the institutions you think she may have been taken to and see if there were any "contributions" to them from the Bumgardner's or his business? I am not sure how that could be found, but I am sure someone on here might have the expertise.

Another angle would be to look at his will to see if he left anything to an "institution". Just another angle to look into. This is quite interesting.

 

[savannahanna]

I just found out about this case today-very fascinating! Just putting dates together. If her BD was around 3-15-16, that would be her 21st! Was prohabition still enforced in '37, can't remember. I was thinking along the line that she might have met someone at a party, club, etc. maybe not what parents would approved of. Maybe she did fall in love with someone and/or by the time 6 or 7 wks passed realized or suspected she was pg. That would put date around the May date of 2nd or 4th that she left. Pure speculation on my part!
Savannahanna

 

[marie-chantal]

I've also just discovered this case. It's tragic and fascinating. Did any of the scumbags who kidnapped her and forced her into prosecution get punished? I certainly hope so. I wonder if any of them are alive. I also wonder if Ruth is still alive. I can't imagine what she must have gone through. Simply horrible.

 

[marie-chantal]

I googled one of the suspects' names and found this:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AAAAIBAJ&pg=6917,6292256&dq=pete-serino&hl=en

It has pics of the suspects and a pic of Ruth. I have to say that the pic of Ruth doesn't look like the picture we've seen of her in this thread.

 

[JoeFromLB]

I found a record of a marriage license application from Union City, IN dated shortly before her disappearance.

Different Ruth Baumgardner? The age is close. The Charley Project page lists her age as 22.

4/26/1937 Riegle, Leonard 26 mechanic OH, Ansonia
Baumgardner, Ruth 22 housekeeper OH, Greenville

http://www.dcoweb.org/randolph/UCmarlic7.htm

Scroll about 2/3rds down the page.

 

[marie-chantal]

Very interesting! I know that she was engaged to another man (can't remember his name, but it wasn't Riegle). Is Greenville anywhere near her college campus? I'm not all that familiar with OH.

 

[Reality Orlando]

There are several references to "Ruth Baumgardner" on Ancestry.com.
There are at least 3 from Ohio born between abt 1899 and 1928.
The one born in 1928 is also Ruth E.
There's also a Ruth V. from Ohio born in 1901.

Our Ruth's listing on the 1930 census says on April 30, 1930 she was 15 years old and her birth date was listed "about 1915."

There was another Ruth E. Baumgardner from the same area in Ohio, birthdate 1919 but Baumgardner was her married name.

 

[Reality Orlando]

The 1920 census has her listed as age 4 10/12. That was dated 1/2/1920 which would put her birthdate March of 1915, right? I do see that there are two different birth years listed for her...1915 and 1916.

 

[marie-chantal]

At least those are two consecutive years. It makes searching a little bit easier than if her DOB were listed as four or five years apart. Is E her middle initial or is it V?

 

[JeannieC]

Hi. This is my first time on this site and I found this very interesting. Just a thought if you don't mind me adding my two cents worth. Massillon State Hospital is close to her family and it was the first state hospital in the US. If her family wanted her close enough to visit this might be a place to look. I don't know if they will give you any information but check this out:
http://www.massillonmuseum.org/research_aboutarchiveslibrary.html

There are several older ones in Pa also.

 

[momtolil]

I googled one of the suspects' names and found this:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AAAAIBAJ&pg=6917,6292256&dq=pete-serino&hl=en

It has pics of the suspects and a pic of Ruth. I have to say that the pic of Ruth doesn't look like the picture we've seen of her in this thread.

Thanks for the article. I liked seeing the pictures of the suspects. Pictures always make these cases seem to come to life for me.

I still can't believe all of us here on this site (especially the really experianced sleuthers) missed all of this during the early stages of the search.

 

[marie-chantal]

Thanks for the article. I liked seeing the pictures of the suspects. Pictures always make these cases seem to come to life for me.

I still can't believe all of us here on this site (especially the really experianced sleuthers) missed all of this during the early stages of the search.

You're welcome! Pictures are also helpful to me too. I am now very curious about the fate of the suspects. It sounds like Massula ended up going to prison for the shooting of the highway patrol officer, but I wonder if he served a life sentence? I also wonder about the other suspects. It sounds to me like they had evidence of their trafficking of Ruth (ugh...it sickens me to think about the horrors she must have endured), so charges could have been pressed. I wonder if her family told them not to go forward with pressing charges? In today's day and age, I think the state would ignore a family's request if something like this happened (and thank God for that).

 

[JeannieC]

While Ford and the others waited at the car, Conn
pulled up and asked to see the “papers” for the vehicle.
Ford said Masulla shot Conn after sneaking up behind him
outside of the parked car.
Among the most convincing evidence was Ford’s
ability to guide officers to different areas involved in the
crime. He led a group to the murder scene, where the car
was abandoned, places along the way they had robbed, and
landmarks in Steubenville.
In the end, Sereno and Johnson were acquitted; Ford
pleaded guilty to manslaughter; and Masulla was convicted
and sentenced to life at hard labor at the Ohio Penitentiary.
Bernice Bradley was never located

You can read the entire article on this web site:
http://statepatrol.ohio.gov/doc/1930s.pdf

This has been previously posted.

Here is another article concerning Ruth. It was in the New York Post.

Missing Ohio Co-Ed Found Killing Solved in Arrest of 4

Here is the link:

http://fultonhistory.com/newspaper ...ork NY Evening Post 1938 Grayscale - 0151.pdf

I wonder if Ruth was using the name Bernice?